The rapid growth of the tea industry from the earliest days inspired planters to try out tea cultivation in the adjoining Terai region and James White set up the first Terai plantation in 1862 at Champta, the first Dooars garden came up at Gazalduba and by 1876, the area had 13 plantations.

The altitude in the tea-growing areas of the Dooars-Terai region range from 90 to 1,750 metres (300 to 5,740 ft) and receives an annual rainfall of around 350 centimetres (140 in).

[4] Cultivation of tea in the Dooars was primarily pioneered and promoted by the British but there was significant contribution of Indian entrepreneurs.

Goodricke’s tea gardens in the Dooars are: Danguajhar, Leesh River, Meenglas, Hope, Aibheel, Chulsa, Chalouni, Jiti, Sankos, Gandrapara, Lakhipara and Kumargram.

[11] Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. Ltd., owned by the Kothari Group, has two gardens in the Dooars-Terai region: Gairkhata, Nagrakata and Taipoo, Bagdogra.

[16] India is losing out in the international market to other countries, such as Kenya, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and even Bangladesh, who have lower cost of production.

[18] This too has come as an interim measure, after the Dooars tea workers have been agitating for higher wages, as well as better facilities for education and healthcare.

[21][22] Among the closed tea gardens are: Kathalguri, Ramjhora, Redbank, Surendranagar, Chamurchi, Raipur, Bamandanga-Tondu, Samsing, Chinchula, Shikarpur-Bhandarpur, Bharnobary, Malnady, Kalchini & Roymatang and Dheklapara.

Around 2002-2004 the industry faced a crisis and at least 22 plantations were closed down in Jalpaiguri district, affecting 21,000 permanent workers and impacting a much larger population.

Dumka, Hazaribagh, Ranchi and Chaibasa formed one of the biggest catchment areas for tea garden labour in the twilight years of the 19th century.

“The notorious coolie trade under colonial rule exploited the dispossession, indebtedness and despair of Adivasis to transport them, often by force or deception, as far as Assam or the Dooars – or even further afield to plantations in Trinidad, Guyana, South Africa and Malaya.

The moribund economy of the Dooars region has rendered these communities vulnerable yet again.”[28] Apart from the Adivasis, many tea garden workers are Nepali and Rajbanshi.